Wall and joint construction



Jan. 1, 1935.

P. THOMSON WALL AND JOINT CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheetl Filed May 22.1935 fz FIG. 1. M F

Ian. 1, 193.5. P. THOMSON 1,986,690

WALL AND JOINT CONSTRUCTION Filed May 22, `1933 .'5 Sheets-SheeiI 2@WHG-LM 0, W, 9 :OG: I E@ C Q v: l

/8 i FETETThmn-LEm-L Jan. 1, 1935. P. THOMSON WALL AND JOINTCONSTRUCTION Filed May 22, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet .3

FIG. 11.

I INVENTOR.' F EEF THDTHE E11-L ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 1, 1935 ofDelaware` l vThe present invention relates to buildinigaconI-" ported ona skeleton framing which .carries .the` lo'adofthe` building, andthereby requiringuthat the Walls be vno-lieavie'r than required to.*carry their own' weight 'and `to eiciently resistfwind pressure againstthe `walls `which merelyserve Vto enclose the structure. l .l

A further object of the invention `.is toprovide a buildingconstructionhaving double walls, with means' for preventing passage of moisture to.the innerwalLf f e q A further objectpof' the iriventionis 'toil-)rondea double wall building construction having c im*` proved means foreffectivelysealing the joints 'between the outer wall units; land'whereinl the connecting members between thelinner and outer Valls; areVsuch as to prevent Vconveying of moisture between the walls A`Afurtherobject'of ythe invention is to provide a building constructionembfodyingmeans to compensate for any expansionfand 'contraction of thestructureand maintain perfectly sealedjoints between the building units. 1

A still further object` of the inventionfresides in the method `andmanner ofv constructing the outer-vvallv unit for attachmenttosupporting columns' ina manner permitting slightfmovement of theunit* inany direction towcompensate `for expansion `and contraction of fthestructure.

- at. a cost considerably A furtherV object of the inventionis ntoprovide a building construction whereinall piping, conf duits,` etc.,may be installed ina concealedf-posif tion withinthe walls, and floorsofthe structure. A `still and important object of 4the inventionis toprovidea rbuilding constructionpermittingfrelatively large and high4bll'llJ-lgs be#-v ing; constructed from precast 1buildingunfits Aand oo Vless than present forms of buildingconstruction's. y f AQther objectsand advantagesofthe invention will be apparentfrom thefollowingdetailefd de` scription, taken inf connection" witli'thedrawings forminglapart of this specicationandswhich j' Figure 1 isafragmentary.verticalfsection thru a *building constructed in accordancewithA this invention, the section being taken thru a window opening inthe structure. f Figu e 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectionabove thewindow opening shizwnfinfig- Aure -1 and `shovvingther mannerin"which`amp1e spaceisprovided for pipes, eter-H a `building unitsfortheouter wall.

o Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section showing a construction atexternal and internal corners of the doubleA Walland the manner in whicha sealed joint is formed between units of, the outer wall.

Figure 4 is anenlarged internal View taken substantially on the line 4 4of Figure 1.

`Figure isa horizontal section on the line 5 5 ,of` Figure 4 and showingthe sealing joint between two' outer wall units and themanner in whichthe inner' and outer walls are spaced apart by non-absorbentelements. l

Figure 6"is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section showing oneof thehorizontal jointsvbetween` the outer Wall units.

the lineJT-'I of Figure 5. Figure 8 is an inside plan view of one of theFigure 9 is a `:fragmentary plan view of the outer iiange of asupporting column for the outer .wall

."Figure` 10 is an enlarged fragmentary detail section at one of theeyebolts foran outer wa unitf during casting ofthe unit.

Figure 11A is a view similar to Figure 10 showing the eye bolt havingbeen loosenedprior to `hardening or setting of the plastic material4vfrom which the unit is formed. A o

"Figure 12 is a fragmentary perspective View of one ofthe sealingelements for thevertical joints. f Y, `In the drawings, and whereinsimilar reference characters designate corresponding parts thruout theseveral views, the letter A designates a steel supporting framing-uponwhich are assembled the various building units to provide a doubleexterior wall embodying an outer section including outer wall unitsorslabs B-"and an' inner section including inner wall units or but slabsC. 'I'he letter D may designate the iioor` structures as a Whole, whilethe letter'E may designate the roofA structure.

The steel; framing A for carrying the load of ythe building embodies thecolumns or uprights 5 which arein the form of I beams which extend fromthe foundation to the roof of the structure in spaced relation along thestraight wallportions. At the external corners of the building as shown`in Figure 3, built upcolumns or uprights `fixare preferably employed,While at the internal corners, built up columns or `uprights '7arepreferably. employed. l VThe columns 6 and V'Z-may` be of `othershapes than that shown so long as the columns present suitable portionsReferring now to the outer wall section of` the exterior wall, the sameformed of kthe outer wall units B which are in the form of molded andreinforced slabsl preferably molded from a plastic material suchjasconcrete. Referring particularly to Figure 8 showing, one of the moldedunits or slabs formed withr a window opening, the metalliccasem'ent'window frame 11 lis embedded in the vunit during molding. Inthe case of doors or other openings, the framing for the opening is'placed in thevunit during molding. Embedded in each outer wall unit orslab B are vertically disposed reinforcing rods vor bars 12 whichterminate short of the upper and lower edges of the units and thesevertical reinforcing bars extend thru eyes 13 formed at the ends ofhorizontal'reinforcing rods orbars 144 which form'ties between thevertical rods. Arranged in verticallyspaced relation along each.vertical edge of the outer wallunit is a series of coupling members15.preferably in the form of eye bolts which are embedded in the moldedAmaterial and have the vertical. reinforcing bars 121 extended thru theeyesl of the bolts as clearly shown in Figures `5 and 7 and with thethreaded shank portions 17 of thevboltsprojecting beyond the innersurface of the molded material. 7Referring lparticularly to Figuresv l0and 11, Figure 10 shows the outer wall unithaving been ymolded with thecoupling members or' eye bolts in place, and before 'the material hasset or hardened the eye bolts are moved aboutrby grasping theprojectingv end portions 17 and the eye'bolts loosened as illustrated inFigure 11 to provide an enlarged pocket 18 for the eye-bolts e wherebythey are permitted to move'fractionall ture.

1yY in any direction so `as to compensate for expansion and contractionof the building struc- This manner of loosening the'eye lbolts alsoeliminates exact alignment of the eye bolts 'being requiredwhenconnecting the wall units to the metal framing.

In the case of an external corner construction -as Vat the upper portionof Figure 3, the outer wall unit B is formed with an angularly offsetend and thev horizontal reinforcing rods 14 are alsofoffset so that theeye at one end thereof `may receive a vertically disposed reinforcingrod.

This construction :asideffrom disposing the eye bolts in proper-positionfor connection tothe framing upright 6, also disposes the joint between-verticaledges of the building units in proper relation to thesupporting columns to provide a sealvjoinrt as will be subsequentlydescribed.

Each vertical end vedge of the outer wall unit isfbeveled as at 20 withthe beveled surfaces terminating inwardly of the outer or face surfaceofthe unit.' These beveled surfaces 20' upon assembling of the outerwall units provide V- shaped pockets along the vertical edgesV ofAadjacent units having confronting'relation to fiat surfaces of thesupporting columns to which the units are attached. As shown moreclearly in Figure .6., the upper horizontal joint forming edges 21 ofthe units B are formed with a reverse or S-shaped curve having theconvex portion of the curve adjacent the inner or rear face of theunits, while the lower edge 22 of each unit is formed with a reverse orS-shaped curve having the convex portion of the curve adjacent the outerface of the unit whereby the convex portions of adjacent units confrontconcaved portions of the edges. f

Referring now to the arrangement of the steel framing A for supportingthe building units, the supporting columns or uprights 5, 6 and 7 arespaced apart` proper distances so that the vertical edges of the units Bwill overlap adjacent columns to which the units are connected alongtheir vertical edges. The columns 5 for use along straight wall portionsare in the form of I beams and have their outer flanges 23 providedwithV vertical rows of apertures 24 as clearly shown in Figure 9 forreceiving the shanks of the eyev bolts 15 whereby the wall units aresecured to th columns bynuts 25 threaded upon the threaded shankportions 17. As shown in Figure 5, the vertical edges of the units B areslightly spaced apart at their outer surfaces beyond-the vV-shapedpockets formed by the bevels 20. Referring particularly to `Figure 3,the built vup column 6 for use at external corners consists of VtwoTxbeams 2'6 and 27 having one ange of the beam 27 secured to the web orstem of the beam 26. The anges of the beam 26 are aper- .tured toreceivethe 'Shanks of the eye bolts for securing the VVouter wall unitsto the column. The built up column 7 for use at internal cornerspreferably consists of a T beam 28 having its .stem or web secured tooneflange of a channel beam 29.

The vertical joints between the exterior wall units B are sealed byresilient sealing members 30 extended along the outer surfaces of thesupporting columns. These sealing` members or strips 30A are formed ofcorl; orsome such similar material andA embody triangular-shaped wedgeportions 31 from each side of the base of which extend flanges 32. Thesealing members 30 have their flanges 32 apertured as at 33 to alignwith the apertures 24 in the supporting rcolumns and receive the'eyebolts 15. The sealing members 30 are `disposed with their flat sidesengaging the flat outer anges rof the supporting columns and the wedgeportion 31 engaging in the V pockets formedbetween the vertical edges ofadjacent wall funits. When the wall unitsB are assembled upon theframing A, and the nuts 25 tightened, the sealing members 30 arecompressed sufficient to".r make 'a tight joint and yet provide enoughresiliency topermit expansion and contraction of the parts joined andstill resist entrance 'of moisture tothe inner surface of the exteriorwall. The vertical jointsl outwardly of the resilient sealing members 30are closed by a suitable plastic material such as at 34 to provide abetter appearing joint and act as protection to the sealing sealed byresilientsealingmembers orstrips provding perfectly sealed jointspermitting slight movement due to expansion and contractiomand that' theunits are/so `secured tothe supporting framing as to also compensate"`for expansion and contraction. i i

The floor structures .D preferablyfconsistof s bar joists 37` ofconventional construction having s their upperand lower railssupported`uponand secured thereto as by welding,` riveting or the like to thehorizontal tie members 9. C The upper side 4ofthe'bar joist 37 supportsa suitable o'oring 38;

and a ceiling 39 is secured in any preferred manner totheunder side ofthebar joists.

l. Tl'iehroof` structure E embodies `barjoists '37' supported at theirends upon the horizontal tie Amembers 9 and supporting a roof 40` ofanyap- @proved construction and provided about its margins with anupstanding flange 41."

The inner section of'the doublezexterior wall construction is built up`of the inner wall units Aor slabs C which may beformed of a plaster com-,positionor other suitably formed` slabssuch as` are now in general usefor interior walllconstructions. The. inner units C arefprovided along`their vertical edges with openings 42 :for receiving `countersinlrscrews 43 `which,inwthefcase `of the columns 5 are threaded into.,tapped` openings 44 provided in the;` inner angesSgof thecolumns.

Where `partitions are `desiredas shown in Figure 5, the partition slabs45 have averticaledgeinterfitting ina pocket formed by spacingthe sendsof theiinner wallfslabs C. `1 l l i Referringy particularly to Figure 3,the T column 27 provides an internal corner for the wall units C and thestem and one flange of the column are tapped as at 46 to receive thefastening screws 43. The channel 29 of the column '7 hasfone flange andits web portion tapped as at 47 for receiving the fastening screws 43.Thus the portions 27 and 29 of the built up columns `6 and 7respectively, provide means for securingthe inner wall units in parallelspaced apart relation to the outer wall units. From Figures 1, 2 and 4it will be noted that the inner wall units C merely extend from the oor38` to the ceiling 39 and `do not traverse the space between thehorizontal `tie l.members supporting the bar josts 37. i

The supporting columns 5, 6 and 7 provide an open space between theouter and inner wall units B and C respectively, which extend from' thebase to the top of the double wall structure and this space hascommunication between the horizontal tie members 9 with the horizontalopen spaces formed between the iioor 38 and ceiling 39 by the open barjoists 37. The vertical open spaces" formed between adjacent columns ofthe supportj ing frame provide spaces for installation of pipes, i wiresand such within the exterior walls and asuitable strainer 52 forcarryingloff roof water.

This arrangement for taking care `of the roof Water. eliminates theusual extending of gutters about themargins of the roof and allowsforlthe drain pipe to be concealed within the double wall. ConnectingYthe outer and inner wall unitsB and C respectively at thewindovv framellllfisia metal casing 55 whch'aside from'closi'ng the-ver-.ticalspacebetween the wall units,also serves as 'a reinforcementfor/the middle portions of the "inner and outer wall units. The outerend of the metalcasing 55 `is secured in any preferred Inanner to theframe 11, while the inner portion-,of the casing is secured by suitablefastening elements56 to `vertically dispose" angle 'uprights 58 4whichmay be secured to the horizontal tie membersj9. These angle' uprights`58 have one flangef yprovided with suitably spaced tapped" openings forreceiving the fastening screws 43 wherebythe inner wall units maybesecured in positifn along the vertical edges of themetal casingi 5 fThus it will be seen 'that the outer andinner `sections of thedoublewall are separated by-vthe metallic members 5, 6,7 and 55 and thatthere are no connections between thewall sections which' would tend toconvey moisture from the outer wall section to the inner wall section.With the jointbetweenthe outer wall units `B perfectlysealed by thesealing members 30 f and V35, `any moisture entering `the space betweenthe outer and the inner wall units would nee'dto soak thru the materialof which the outer Wall isicomposed, and since the outer wall section isseparated-from theinner wall section bythe steel columns.5,16 l

secured to the framing in such manner as to provide a double wall withthe sections thereof spaced apart by framing elements serving to preventpassage of moisture from one section of the wall to the other. The openair spaces between the walls also allow for a circulation of air whichwill dissipate moisture absorbed by the outer wall.

A novel means forproviding a perfect seal between joints of the outerwall units is also provided, as well as means for securing the outerwall units to the supporting framing in a manner to compensate forexpansion and contraction of the structure without causing an opening tobe formed at the joints. i

Changes in details may be made to the form of invention herein shown anddescribed,` Without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the following claims.

I claim: l

1. A building comprisinga metal framing includin'givertical wall columnsand horizontal bar joists supported in vertically spaced relation by thecolumns, outer wall units secured to the outer sides of the columns,inner wall units secured to the inner sides of the columns above andbelow the bar joists, said outer and inner wall units providing verticalair spaces thruout the height of the walls, a floor supported on theupper side of the bar joists, and a ceiling secured to the under side ofthe bar joists, said oor and ceiling providing horizontal air spaceshaving communication with the vertical air spaces at each wall of thebuilding. e

2. A building comprising an exterior wall in- .cluding parallel spacedapart metallic uprights provided along their outer sides with verticalrows of plane openings and along their inner sides with vertical rows oftapped openings, agseries of molded outer wall units having `theirvertical edges overlapping the outer side of adjacent uprights, aresilient sealing membenbetween the vertical edges of the units,fastening elements embedded injthe units along their vertical edges andhaving threaded shank portions for extending thru said plane openings,nuts threaded upon the threaded Vshank portions for securing lthe unitsto vthe'uprights, sealing means between the horizontal edges o-fsuperposed units, a series of `inner wall units having their verticaledges overlapping the inner sides of adjacent uprights, and threadedfasteningv elements along the vertical edges of,` the inner wall unitsfor threading into said tapped openings.

3. A wall including in combination, parallel spaced apart I columnshaving apertured outer flanges, molded wall units having beveledvertical edges overlapping the outer anges of adjacent columns, aresilient sealing member for each column including a triangular ribportion engaging the beveled edges of the units andV anges engaging thecolumn iianges andhaving apertures aligning with the apertures in thecolumn anges, a series of bolts anchored in the units along eachvertical edge portion thereof with the Shanks of the bolts extendingthru the aligning apertures in .the sealing members and column anges,anda nut threaded on each of said Shanks for securing the units to thecolumns.

v`4:. A wall including in combination, parallel spaced apart uprightshaving iiat outer faces, outer Wall units having beveled vertical edgesoverlapping the outer faces of adjacent uprights,

a resilient sealing member disposed between the outer face of theuprights and overlapping edges of the wall units and havingtriangular-shaped rib portions engaged with a wedging fit by the bevelededges of the wall units, and means for separately fastening the kwallunits to the uprights. Y

`5. A wall comprising in combination, parallel spaced apart uprights,outer wall units having their vertical edges overlapping adjacentuprights, a resilient sealing member between the vertical edges of theunits and spaced inwardly from the outer face of the units, means forsecuring theunits along their vertical edges to the uprights, aresilient sealing member between the horizontal edges of superposed wallunits and spaced inwardly from the outer face of the units, and aplastic ller lling the vertical and horizontal joints between the wallunits outwardly of the sealing members.

6. .A wall comprising in combination, supportinguprights, moulded wallunits secured at their vertical edges to the uprights and havinginteriitting S curved upper and lower edges, and a resilient sealingstrip substantially filling the joint of said intertting edges andhaving its outer edge spaced inwardly of the outer face of thefunits..'7. A building unitcomprising a moulded slab havingV beveled verticaledges with the bevels terminating inwardly of the outer face of theslab, and S curved upper and lower edges, the upper edge having itsconvex portion adjacent the inner face of the slab and the lower edgehaving its convex portion adjacent the outer face of the slab, andsecuring elements carried by the slab and projecting from the inner.face thereof.

' PETER. THOMSON.

